Masthay provides stability at punter for Packers

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2010, file phot, Green Bay Packers punter Tim Masthay punts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in Green Bay, Wis. Masthay has perhaps been the Packers' most improved player since then, and is coming off perhaps his best performance of the season in the Packers' NFC championship game victory in Chicago. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
— AP

FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2010, file phot, Green Bay Packers punter Tim Masthay punts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in Green Bay, Wis. Masthay has perhaps been the Packers' most improved player since then, and is coming off perhaps his best performance of the season in the Packers' NFC championship game victory in Chicago. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
/ AP

GREEN BAY, Wis. 
A few months ago, Tim Masthay looked like he might be the latest in a series of shaky Green Bay Packers punters. If he didn't pick up his performance, the team might not have been far from replacing him.

Now Masthay might be the Packers' most improved player, turning what has been one of the team's biggest weaknesses in recent seasons into a solid strength going into the Packers' Feb. 6 Super Bowl matchup with Pittsburgh.

The Packers' first-year punter had one of his best games of the season in Sunday's NFC championship game victory at Chicago, bottling up Bears returner Devin Hester by placing five of his eight punts inside the 20-yard line.

Hester had only three punt returns for 16 yards, meaning Masthay and the Packers' punt coverage unit essentially took away the Bears' most formidable big-play threat.

"He may be the most improved player on our team, if you want to look (back to) the beginning of the season, just from a pure production standpoint," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Tim was huge in the Chicago game."

A standout punter at Kentucky, Masthay signed with Indianapolis in 2009 but was cut during training camp.

When the Packers signed him to a reserve/future contract in January 2010, Masthay was working as a part-time tutor and hoping he'd get another shot.

"I was just thinking about that," Masthay said. "Technically I was under contract with the Packers at this time (last year), but I hadn't been up here yet. I was still tutoring 20 hours a week at the university and going to the gym by myself. It's kind of surreal. I'm sure when the season's over, I'll really reflect a lot. But I'm just excited to be going to Dallas for the Super Bowl."

Masthay won a training camp battle with Chris Bryan, a former Australian rules football player who was trying to make the transition to American football; Bryan ended up spending a few weeks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We go back to when he got here last spring, and he was in great competition, and he went through a real growth process there," Packers special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said of Masthay. "I think competition brings the best out of players. And then we got into training camp, he won the job. We start the season and he had to learn how to be an NFL punter."

But Masthay didn't get off to a great start, and it wasn't so long ago that his spot on the team seemed anything but secure. After Masthay struggled in an Oct. 17 loss to Miami, McCarthy made it clear that he needed to get better soon.

"The punting was not good yesterday," McCarthy said the next day. "I think that's obvious. Tim has been inconsistent."

There was speculation about Masthay's future with the team, but Slocum said he was more focused on helping Masthay improve than trying to find a replacement at the time.

"It's my job as the coach to get the player to perform," Slocum said. "Tim and I worked hard to continue to improve. He did it, and I think it's a non-story now."